Industry layoffs continue to accelerate, this time hitting RA Capital’s biotech incubator, according to Stat.
RA Ventures, also known as Raven, is a healthcare accelerator for the prominent life sciences venture capital firm. The incubator has created several biotechs, including Mariana Oncology, a radiopharma company Novartis acquired for $1 billion in 2024, and Aliada Therapeutics, an antibody-focused startup AbbVie bought last year for $1.4 billion.
However, after RA Capital recently asked its companies to reassess operations, Raven has cut an undisclosed number of workers, two sources told Stat.
The VC offshoot laid off administrative and support services staffers while also eliminating a group focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, according to Stat.
As of publication, RA Capital had not responded to Fierce Biotech for comment.
At the end of April, RA Capital filed plans outlining a new investment fund—dubbed RA Capital Nexus Fund IV—for an undisclosed amount. The potential fund would follow the $880 million RA Capital Nexus Fund III secured in 2021.
The investor also participated in Stylus Medicine’s $85 million financing, announced earlier this week. The genetic-medicine-focused biotech is led by CEO Emile Nuwaysir, Ph.D., former CEO of Bayer’s cell therapy outfit BlueRock Therapeutics.
The VC also previously funneled money into Vor Biopharma, a cell therapy startup that began winding down last week after evaluating clinical data and the current “challenging fundraising environment.”
In early April, RA Capital founder and Managing Partner Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D., signed a letter to a Senate committee that expressed concern over the FDA’s capacity after mass federal layoffs, specifically for small biotechs that depend on investor backing to meet agency standards.
The current ambiguity regarding the FDA's capabilities may trigger downstream uncertainty from investors questioning whether the agency can do its job, according to the letter, which was signed by hundreds of biopharma stakeholders.
For the past few years, the biotech industry has endured bearish conditions, with hopes initially pinned on 2025 for a return to normal. But the geopolitical volatility and federal cuts are forcing companies to batten down the hatches even more than usual.
As of May 14, at least 21 biopharmas have announced layoffs for the first two weeks of the month, according to Fierce Biotech’s Layoff Tracker. That’s an unprecedented number, with March 2025 recording the highest amount of layoffs so far, at 26 rounds, across the multiple years Fierce has tracked the measure.